London

Boots. check. Gloves. Check. Scarf. Check. Winter days have arrived. The temperatures have dropped, the Christmas decorations are up and the festive spirit is in the air.

One can feel the festive mood in the weeks leading to Christmas. The beautifully decorated Christmas trees, grand and majestic, the lights in Oxford Circus that demand a walk through the busy streets once the sun has set. People thinking of family and presents. A lovely time of year. Below are a few suggestions to get into the Christmas spirit:

If you were in central London this weekend then you may have stumbled upon the unusual sight of a thousand Santas gathered together. For you see, Saturday marked the annual SantaCon event in London, and ForeignStudents.com Editor Andy was there to see it.

This was my first experience of SantaCon and I had no idea what to expect. I knew the basic idea behind it: as many people as possible all meet up dressed as Santa Claus and then proceed to spread Christmas cheer throughout the streets (whilst getting a little ‘merry' in pubs throughout the day). Each year the event takes place in hundreds of cities around the world, in dozens of different countries. This year similar events were held in New York, Munich, San Francisco, Glasgow and Sydney to name just a few.

However, for the London one we were to meet in Trafalgar Square (there was an early start at Victoria but it was a little too early for me on a Saturday morning). Before I arrived there was the slight doubt that it was all an elaborate hoax and I would be the only one dressed up. However, there was certainly no need to worry about that.

After being the first to expose a brand new piece of graffiti that has all the characteristics of street artist Banksy, ForeignStudents.com can now exclusively reveal how it was created. The piece is over two storeys up and rumour has been rife as to how the artist produced it. However, as the photo above (taken last Sunday 20th November) shows, an elaborate scaffold was set up to make sure nobody caught the artist in the act.

It all started on the morning of last Saturday (19th November), when two men began unloading scaffolding from a white van. As one began erecting the scaffolding, the other walked up and down protectively. By 2pm the scaffold was finished and white tarpaulin covered parts of it.

Thinking the scaffolding was the start of construction work planned to redevelop the disused building, a member of staff came back that night and took a photo (photo 1 below).

Banksy has created his latest piece of street art in London, in what may be his first work since the Occupy London installation.

In W1, close to the ForeignStudents.com office on Bruton Lane, our staff spotted the graffiti on the side of a disused building, the stencil appears to be in Banksy's iconic style.

Two storeys up, it shows a woman desperately trying to cling on to a shopping trolley as she falls to the ground. The trolley is laden with what appears to be a wine bottle, necklace and purse, and she seems powerless to control her materialistic lifestyle.

Often featuring social and political satire, Banksy's pieces are highly sought after, the scenes portrayed in his graffiti are recognised by loyal followers in the UK and around the world.

Below is a close up of the piece:

Update: here's a video we also took: 

Balancing work and school is something that many of us have to do at some time in our lives, either as students in our late teens or later in life if we decide to go back into education. It can sometimes be a struggle to get the right balance of work and school, but it is manageable as long as you're organised. Read on to find out more about balancing work and school.

Prioritise

First of all, it really helps if you are able to prioritise. Which is the most important to you, work or school? If you're in education then it's likely that you're there to achieve a goal that will benefit you more in the long run, so this should probably be your priority. However, when you're at work you should make sure you're fully committed; keeping on top of school deadlines should help you focus more when you're actually at work.

Look for Flexible Work

Looking for flexible work can also help. For instance, many students look for leisure jobs or retail jobs as these often offer flexible shifts that you can fit around your school work. It's also likely that you'll need to look for part time work as a student or else you won't have time to fit everything in. This can help you to tailor your job search: looking for part time jobs in London and other locations helps you to focus on what you need while also giving you a starting point.